Method of resolving emulsions



1 ED 00 21,191 13. I t 1,373,778. Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

Irw enbar-x J/zarples;

- PHILIP '1. SHAIRILES, OF ST. DAVIDS, PENNSYLVANIA. I

METHOD OF RESOLVING EMULSIONS. i

Specification of Letters Platent.

Patented Apr. 5,1921.

Application filed. October 21, 1918. Serial. No. 259,107.

To all whom it 1M) concern:

Be it known that I, PHILIP T. SHARPLES, a cltizen of the United States, residing at St. Davids, in the county of Delaware and State of Pennsylvania, have invented Methods for Resolving Emulsions, of which the following is a specification.

-My invention relates to the treatment of oil emulsions, particularly where oil and water occur in several phases, for the purpose of resolving such emulsions.

Crude petroleum, as it commonly occurs in the oil fields, comprises a continuous I phase of oil which may be referred to as It is the primary object of my invention to resolve such emulsions rapidly and efii ciently.

A desideratum attained is the economical? resolution of emulsions in large volumes.

The method, as applied to the treatment of crude petroleum, comprises the centrifuging of the emulsion in such manner that the oil is or may be discharged with less than ,two per cent. of the emulsion phase (this being the usual requirement forpipe line petroleum), and the free water and the emulsion phase are discharged together with resulting enlargement of the size of the globules of water in theemulsion phase and reduction of the stability of the emulsion phase. Thus the emulsion phase is efiiciently removed from the bulk of the oil without necessarily removing all ofthe primary oil phase from the emulsion phase, but generally dischargin some free oil with the emulsion phase to acilitate its resolution as accomplished in the next steps.

The discharged mixture of ,water and emulsion phase is preferably heated, and may be treated further for the reduction of its stability, after some or all of the free fore it is discharge water-has been removed, as by passing it through salt water or adding soap thereto.

The material, thus treated, is subjected to subsidence by centrifuging for the purpose of resolving it into oil and water or this separation may be effected in some instances to subsidence by gravity.

v The accompanying drawin illustrate diagrammatically efl'ects obtained by the application of the centrifuging forces according to my method, Figure 1 representing a vertical sectional view of a bowl top with with the first centrifuging operation specified; and Fig. 2 representing a vertical sectional view of a bowl top with the free oil from the emulsion and water separating phase in accordance with-the second centrifuging operation specified.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the bowl 1 has in the top thereof a ring or open circular the free oil separated from the free v water and emulsion phase in accordance baflle 2, and is provided with the outlet-3 communicating with the interior of the bowl over the inner edge of the ring and the outlet 4 communicating with "the interior of the.

bowl over the outeredge of the ring, the ring and the discharge outlets being placed in such relation tothe bowls axis of rotation that a large body of separated oil will be held in the bowl, suchibody extending for instance to the zone a or as near as practicable to the outer edge of the ring without interference with the desired discharge of practically all of the free oil over the inner edge of such ring and without effecting the discharge of a substantial or undesired amount'of free oil over the outer edge of the ring w th the free water and'emulsion.

The result of this arrangement is that the free oil has the free water and emulsion phase separated therefrom efficiently by reason of the high degree of centrifugal force to which such free .oil is subjected bed, and the stability of the emulsion phase is lowered by the centrifugal force to which it is subjected, as'al'so by the presence of some free oil'discharged therewith. The depth radially of the free oil will be substantially greater than the distance therefrom to the outer edge of the baflle or the place of initial discharge of the emulsion phase and water.

This emulsion phase, either withor after separation from'the free water-and after tation of the bowl 1' phase belng comparatively close to the inner edge of the baflle and the place of division '6 between the discharging separated Water and the emulsion phase being comparatively close to the outer edge of the baffle, the separated free oil occupying a much smaller ortion of the bowl in the second than in the first centrifuging step and the emulsion phase occupying a comparatively wide zone and being subject to a high degree of centrifugal force to effect further.-resolution thereof.

The steps described may be applied in whole or in part to the treatment of other unrefined or crude oils, such as cotton seed oil, for effecting its separation into constit uent parts, and it will be understood that the operations are not to be restricted exceptlng as requiredby the limitations of the claims;

Having described my invention, I claim 1. The method of treatin an emulsion comprising three phases whlch consists in centrifuging the same so as to effect separation with the discharge of the lightest phase separately from the heavier phases, retarding the discharge of said lightest phase so as to hold a relatively large volume thereof in the centrifuge, and subjecting said volume to the highest centrifugal force practicable without discharging a substantial amount thereof with said heavier phases.

2. The method of treating a liquid or semi liquid comprising three phases which consists in centrifuging the same so as to effect separation with the dischar e of the intermediate with the heaviest p ase and baffling the discharge of said phases so as to effect their initial mechanical division at substantially different radial distances from the axis of rotation and retain a volume of said lightest phase having a reater depth radially than the distance t erefrom radially to said place of mechanical division of the other phases. j 3. The method of treating a liquid or semi liquid comprising an emulsion of oil and water which consists in centrifugin and baffling the same so as to separate the bulk of the free oil and lower the stability of the remaining emulsion and then resolving said separated emulsion by subsidence.

4. The method of resolving complex emulsion comprising three or more phases which and baffling said consists in centrifuging an intermediate emulsion and to reduce the stability of said interme-' diate emulsion phase, treating said intermediate I emulsion phase for the further lowering of its stability, and resolving the treated emulsion phase by centrifuging.

6. The method of resolving an emulsion comprising a light phase, a heavy phase and phase which consists in centrifuging said emulsion first named so as to recover substantially all of the lightest phase separately and the heav- 1est with the intermediate emulsion phase, heating the separated intermediate emulsion phase to reduce its stability, and then resolving the treated emulsion phase by centrifu ing.

7. The method of resolvingan emulsion comprising a light phase, a heavy phase and an-intermediate emulsion phase which consists in centrifu ing said emulsion first named so as to e ect the separation of the bulk of the lightest phase from the heaviest and the intermediate emulsion phase, treating said intermediate emulsion phase with a chemical agent adapted to reduce its stability, and resolving the treated emulsion phase by centrifuging.-

8. The method of resolving an emulsion comprising a light phase, a heavy phase and.

an intermediate emulsion phase which consists in centrifu ing said emulsion first named so as to'eect the separation of the bulk of the lightest phase from the heaviest and intermediate emulsion phase, heating and chemically treating the separated intermediate emulsion phase, and resolving the treated emulsion phase by centrifuging.

9. The method of treating an emulsion which consists in centrifuging and bafiling the same so as to effect the separation and initial discharge of the lightest and heaviest phases at substantially different radial distances from the axis of rotation and holdin unresolved emulsion forming the bulk of the liquid in the top of the bowl between the places of discharge of said heaviest and lightest phases.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my name this 19th day of October, 1918.

P. T. SHARlPLES. 

